Shloka 2
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Anxiety and Bhīṣma’s Theological Explanation of Pāṇḍava Invincibility
Book 6, Chapter 61
शरैरतिरथो युद्धे दारयन् रथयूथपान् | ते वध्यमाना: पार्थेन कालेनेव युगक्षये
śarair atiratho yuddhe dārayan rathayūthapān | te vadhyamānāḥ pārthena kāleneva yugakṣaye ||
ಯುದ್ಧದಲ್ಲಿ ಆ ಅತಿರಥನು ತನ್ನ ಬಾಣಗಳಿಂದ ರಥದಳಗಳ ನಾಯಕರುಗಳನ್ನು ಚೀರಿ ಹಾಕುತ್ತಿದ್ದನು. ಪಾರ್ಥನಿಂದ ವಧಿಸಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಅವರು ಯುಗಾಂತ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಲನೇ ಬಂದು ನಾಶಮಾಡುವಂತೆ ಕುಸಿದು ಬೀಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, individual agency (Arjuna’s skill) appears inseparable from the larger force of Kāla (Time/destiny). It suggests that mass destruction on the battlefield can resemble cosmic dissolution, reminding the listener that violence, once unleashed, becomes an impersonal, unstoppable process.
Sañjaya describes Arjuna (Pārtha) in the thick of battle, using volleys of arrows to break the ranks and kill the commanders of chariot-units. The slaughter is compared to Time’s devastation at the end of a world-age, emphasizing the scale and inevitability of the rout.